Elegant and slim, Bella Cases' Smart Libretto case for iPad stands out among a sea of iPad 2 cases and even among the find leather cases. The Bella Smart Libretto case is made with genuine leather and has a polished surface you associate with high quality leather. The iPad 2 has a built-in stand that creates two viewing angles, and comes in four colors. The case is form fitting and provides very good protection for the entire tablet.

Design

The Bella Smart Libretto Case for iPad 2 is a portfolio style case. It has very rigid inserts for both the front and back of the case to protect the tablet from pokes, bumps and bruises in a bag or backpack, as well as withstand some shock should you drop the iPad 2 while in the case. Wrapped around the inserts on the exterior, the Bella Smart Libretto case has very smoothly pressed leather that looks and feels high quality. The fine-grained leather has been polished and the edges and corners have great quality stitching. The case has a tablet holder on the right, and both magnetic closure as well as a small but strong snap to ensure the cover on the left to stay securely shut.

The Bella Smart Libretto Case for iPad 2 has a very soft microsuede interior that matches the color of the case. On the left cover, there are also four business card/credit card slots as well as a large document pocket for you to store paper, letter, etc. The tablet holder on the right is form fitting and it?s very easy to slide your iPad 2 in or take it out. Behind the case, there is a stand piece with a snap that allows you to fold the front cover back and snap onto the small stand piece to prop up the tablet for multimedia viewing or using the on-screen keyboard.

The Bella Smart Libretto Case is the thinnest leather iPad 2 cases we?ve seen among high end leather cases. It?s thinner than the Vintcase and certainly a lot thinner than the Saddleback Leather Case. Even though it?s super slim, the case feels very strong thanks to the hard inserts. The slim case also adds lighter weight to the tablet. The Bella Smart Libretto Case for iPad comes in black, brown, red and tan.

Features

Bella Smart Libretto leather case is a very functional case thanks to the cutouts that leave all ports and buttons open. The case has separate cutouts for the 30-pin connector and the speaker grill on the bottom, and a long cut on the side to give you access to the screen lock button and the volume rocker. The top cutouts include two corner cuts that leave out the power button and audio jack for easy access, though the small cutout for the top mic is a little miss-aligned when the case is new. We suspect as you wear the leather more the tablet will go deeper into the pocket more easily and the mic hole will be more aligned.

The Bella Smart Libretto Case has a cutout for the rear camera and even cuts down on the insert so that the camera can have better viewing angles. The camera cutout is mostly centered when case is new. Again as you use it more, the leather will get softer and the tablet will go into the pocket more and center the camera cutout. Even with the case brand new, we have no trouble using the camera.

The Bella Smart Libretto for iPad 2 also comes with a small leather stand lip on the back, you can fold the front cover back to create a built-in stand in a more upright angle for media viewing or more flat angle for typing on the on-screen keyboard more comfortably. The small stand lip has a snap socket and you can use the snap on the front cover to snap into the socket for stability. You can only prop up the iPad 2 in landscape orientation steadily. The case also has magnetic closure for auto sleeping the screen when you close the cover and auto waking up the tablet when you open it. It works pretty well in open and standing positions, but if you just want to fold back the front cover and hold the tablet in your hand, the magnetic closure will likely turn off the screen accidentally.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a high end leather case that?s not bulky for your iPad 2, the Bella Smart Libretto case is one of the slimmest and most polished looking cases we?ve seen on the market. We love the fine grain leather material and very rigid inserts, and the four nice colors with matching interior soft linings should please different tastes. The case provides ton of protect without being bulky, and the built-in stand works well. The case has all the required cutouts for button and port access, but some cutouts need to be centered more. The Bella Smart Libretto case manages to look both classic and chic at the same time, we highly recommend the case for leather case lovers.